Dentaltown November 2020 - 61

Focus on: your growth mindset
To be successful at anything requires
the right mindset. Beyond just wanting to
do something, you need to:
* Set a goal.
* Create a plan.
* Commit to the discipline it will take
to execute that plan daily.
Let's take these one at a time. You
undoubtedly already have a revenue goal for
the year, but do you have one for the fourth
quarter? Given where you are right now,
what do you need to do in these last two
months to meet your 2020 goal? If you're
falling short, don't give up on the year! If you
write off the last few weeks as a slow time,
that will become a self-fulfilling prophecy
because you won't be of the mindset to do
anything to change that expectation.
Instead, set a fourth-quarter revenue
goal that gets you back on track for the
overall year. Even if you miss the target,
you'll come out better off than if you weren't
shooting for a goal. And if you're ahead of
projection, fantastic! Set a fourth-quarter
goal that capitalizes on that momentum, so
your year ends up that much better than
your original goal.
Now that you have a fourth-quarter
goal, what will you need to do to achieve
it? Set yourself up for success by being
willing to invest in strategies that get and
keep your wheels spinning. Involve your
entire team in the plan so you get buy-in
and everyone understands their roles and
takes responsibility and accountability for
agreed-upon targets.
Now comes the hard part: having the
discipline to execute that plan on a daily basis.
That means making yourself do what you
should, even when you don't feel like it. And
conversely, not doing what you shouldn't,
even when you want to. Weight loss is an
obvious illustration of this. Let's say you
set a goal to lose 15 pounds, and your plan

includes 30 minutes daily on the treadmill
and skipping dessert. Come Thanksgiving,
have the discipline to make yourself get on
that treadmill and push away that pie, in
spite of what you'd rather do. And if you do
succumb to temptation, don't let one day's
overindulgence bleed on for days.

Instead of starting the new
year with momentum, you
spend much of the first
quarter just trying to regain
traction. When you have to
repeat that cycle of damage
recovery year after year, it's
virtually impossible to establish
a long-term growth pattern for
the practice.
To achieve your fourth-quarter goal,
don't let distractions derail your intentions,
or allow external circumstances to become
excuses for not following through. Continually motivate your people to maintain their
mindset and stay focused on what they've
committed to do. To keep the holidays from
being a major distraction, leverage the spirit
of the season and everyone's happy mood
to motivate in fun ways that apply only at
this time of year.

dentaltown.com \\ NOVEMBER 2020

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Dentaltown November 2020

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